[DeuceKicker]

[ QUOTE ]
I strongly disagree. James can't assume to win every immunity challenge (especially considering the the challenges so far after the merge were difficult for him), so in my opinion it would be stupid for him to play the idol when he has good reason to be fairly certain that he's not on the line. It's a tactical decision, and I think James has handled it ok so far. He might be a little too credulous, but imo he hasn't made a glaring mistake with the idols so far.

[/ QUOTE ]In the past the physically strong are usually safe pre-merge (unless they're really difficult to deal with) but they have huge targets on their backs post-merge. Since he is so dominating, he should know that his target is ginormous.

The beauty of having two IIIs is that he doesn't have to win every IC; but he probably needs to win all but two. The only time I could see him not using an idol is when his alliance has a slim lead, like a 5-4 or 4-3 advantage. Then he might feel like his teammates wouldn't give up their majority to get rid of him, but last week his tribe was strong enough that they could afford to give up JRB. How do they not take the chance and vote James? Maybe he's unpopular enough that people like Todd and Amanda don't mind if he sticks around till the end.

Hell, if I were Todd, I'd say to Peih-Gee and her crew, "We're sick of JRB so we're giving you guys a pass and voting him out." Then Todd, Amanda, Courtney, Denise, and JRB vote for James while Peih-Gee, Eric, and Frosti (and James) vote for JRB. It's win-win. Either JRB or James goes home and you still don't lose your numerical advantage.